Good concept, poorly executed.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I recognized a whole lot of character types in Hate Crime as I watched this film. It ought to be shown to various police departments as part of LGBT sensitivity training.Seth Petersen and Brian Smith are a gay pair who have a new neighbor move next door. When he finds out that Petersen and Smith are lovers Chad Donella becomes downright hostile. He's the son of local preacher Bruce Davision who takes his theology from the Fred Phelps school.While planning a commitment ceremony and remember this 2005 and Texas did not have same sex marriage legal then, Smith goes out walking their dog one night and never returns. He's found unconscious in the park as Matthew Shepard was and dies a few days later in the hospital in Dallas.The original cop on the case Farah White realizes this is a hate crime, but when it goes to homicide the new lead detective Giancarlo Esposito starts working on a new theory that Petersen killed his partner for the insurance.Back in my working days at Crime Victims Board in New York State I had a double claim for a lesbian couple. One was wounded and the other killed in a break in robbery. The cops in the Brooklyn precinct where this happened insisted it was something cooked up by the surviving partner and my agency would not pay because of that. By dumb luck they caught a burglar on another case and he confessed to the homicide and the other shooting as well. I can totally sympathize with the frustration that Petersen and Cindy Pickett, Smith's mother must have felt that led them to do what they did. Oh, we did eventually pay our wounded victim.It's good to remember that this is Texas where gun laws as we know are loose and the right to bear arms is held sacred. My attitude has always been that I've paid for the burial of a couple thousand homicide victims in my 23 years at CVB. Gun control to me seems a no brainer. But God help us if in the LGBT community we ever do an about face and decide maybe bearing arms is in our interest. Seeing what I've seen I'm amazed that something like what unfolds here hasn't happened in real life.As it turns out Chad Donella is a closet case and hates himself for it. Are there straight viewers of this film out there who don't think this is a recurring story? I give you Ronald Crumpley who one night in December of 1980 who was a closet case himself took an Uzi and shot several people congregating in front of the Ramrod and Sneakers bar on West Street in New York City. I two of those cases myself back in the day in my second year of service at the agency.This is a fine film and one can only that it is not a predictor of the future.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this movie up at my local vid outlet. I must admit that I'm not a fan of most "gay cinema" (even though I'm a 37 y/o gay male), and find it to be mostly filled with bad acting, bad production and too many political/social agendas preaching about "equality and blah blah blah" and overloaded with cheesy stereotypes. Fortunately that was NOT the case with this incredible film. The acting, production, cinematography, storyline and casting were all dead-on. No stereotypes here. No disco dollies, no exstacy queens, no group of bar hopping, sex seeking lushes with gym buffed bodies on display. This was a film dealing with people in the 2000's, living in a world with a supposedly increased tolerance level and how even though the majority may speak loudly, sometimes even the smallest kink can cause the most damage. I was riveted and moved to tears, taken on an emotional roller-coaster ride that left me angry in some parts, crying in others and shouting in support of what was happening in others. I rarely (if ever) have found many movies to move me the way this one did. Not a pity story. Not a "Gay" story. This is a human drama, a thriller with twists you can't see coming and an ending that leaves you with the NEED to talk to someone about it. SEE THIS FILM, and tell someone else to see it. With all the empty Hollywood blockbusters coming out, this film stands above them all by having a cast of fine actors, fully realized, 3 dimensional characters, and a storyline that's completely believable. Lose yourself for 90 minutes and let this edge of your seat movie take you away..... Just have some Kleenex handy. You'll need it.

Hate Crime did have my complete interest and care for its characters and it did make me cry like a small child with a freshly skinned knee. Its status as a direct-to-video production did not exactly maintain that grace. What I described in my first sentence here is a film that satisfied three major and vital departments as an audience. There are much better films that should do such a good job making us care, making us cry, but unfortunately this is not a better film.One of its major detractions is in the acting. Seth Peterson, who stars, is off the hook with me, because he was very convincing and the only actor in the film that was not so stilted and did not make every line so visibly scripted. Even Lin Saye, whose past credits include the hilariously disgusting landlord in Kingpin and the eavesdropping chain-smoking neighbor in There's Something About Mary, loosens the film's grip on you. This can be bearable until the stomach- churningly misfired dramatic scene between Cindy Pickett and Sean Hennigan, where their painfully insecure deliveries are further crippled by the stale and two-dimensionally written scene.See, while the movie is very enjoyable, it carries some of the stereotypes of direct-to-video productions. On the bright side, it's one more movie for people to see about homophobia and its often devastating effects, it's one more movie to satisify those who have an appetite for vindication and comeuppance, and it fulfills those three said vital elements of watching a movie.

I seen this movie this past fall at the Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.It was seen by such few people because it was on a Monday nite. It was one night only.It was one of the better gay related movies i have seen. What a powerful story.It was also very emotional. This could really happen which made it so more interesting to watch.I'm not sure why this movie wasn't released.I am trying to find the DVD. I would buy it so other people i know can see this movie.